Who is responsible for what happens to the natural environment? When disaster affects humanity’s environment, regardless of whether it is at the hand of nature or man, people look to authority figures for answers. Unsurprisingly, this concept also holds true for religion. Such was the case for Christianity in Europe during the eighth century. Rudolf, Monk of Fulda’s narrative of St. Leoba, recounts natural and unnatural events which impacted the town, and as the abbess, St. Leoba held the responsibility for the followers’ well-being. This connection between humanity and their different surroundings reflects the literary theory ecocriticism. Rudolf, Monk of Fulda’s narrative The Life of St. Leoba conveys the ecocritical components: built environment, …show more content…
Commenting on the rivers in the area, he says: “It received this name from the clearness and sweetness of the water there, which was better than any other in that land” (107). Though the area sounds serene; as evoked through Rudolf’s imagery, this natural area was to house two man-made structures: monasteries. These monasteries: “…one for men, the other for women” were “both surrounded by strong and lofty walls and provided with all the necessities that prudence could devise” (107). The Christian church purposefully changed the natural surroundings of Wimbourne to meet the needs of the Christian faith. Furthermore, these monasteries had the understanding that “any woman who wished to renounce the world and enter the cloister did so on the understanding that she would never leave it” (107). Therefore, not only did the church take control over the natural environment, but took total control over those in the built environment as well. Rudolf further proves; albeit unknowingly, the opposition to the outside environment: “Furthermore, when it was necessary to conduct the business of the monastery and send for something outside, the superior of the community spoke through a window and only from there did she make decisions and arrange what was needed” (107). Being kept within the constructs of the monastery was a life in which St. Leoba thrived. She revered being cloistered away in the …show more content…
Leoba moves to Germany, Rudolf mentions a conflict that gives us an insight into how St. Leoba and her connection with God influenced the agrarian ecology. An outsider to the church’s built environment, a crippled begging girl who fornicates, dumps her baby’s body into a pool that the town created from the river. She not only commits an unnatural act of God, but in disposing of her baby in the water, connects the unnatural to the natural environment. In doing this, Rudolf condemns her: “In this way she added crime to crime, for she not only followed fleshly sin by murder, but also combined murder with the poisoning of the water” (110). As an agrarian society, the river was a tool for survival, and the spoiling of the water would in turn “murder” the townspeople by making them sick or prevent them from “grinding corn” for sustenance (111). Due to the town laying blame on the women of the monastery, St. Leoba, utilizes her adapt knowledge and relationship with God to find the truth. After extensive prayer and penance, St. Leoba calls to Jesus and: “Immediately after she had said this, that wretched little woman…seemed to be surrounded by flames, and, calling out the name of the abbess, confessed to the crime she committed” (111). In doing this, St. Leoba regained control over the outrage at the poisoning of the water, connecting her relationship to God with and the environment. Being able to incite a miracle as this only further established St. Leoba’s position as
As soon as the novel begins, we are introduced to the concept of saving the environment. The book begins with the narrator explaining his life-long dream of helping the world. He says that the cultural revolution of the 1960’s contributed to his ambition. However, as time went on he
In the journal of Environmentalism as Religion, Paul H. Rubin discuss about how environmental is similar to religion. Rubin want everyone to know that the environment and religion are somehow similar in a way, which they both have belief system, creation stories and original sin.
Her choices of metaphors are simplistic explanations providing the backdrop for the emotional and spiritual connection we seek in following Christ. The symbolic comparisons of Mary Magdalene, her relationship to Jesus, mirrors some of Julian of Norwich’s personal spiritual journey of prayerful contemplation while seeking intimacy in her relationship to God.
In the book “Collapse” written and theorized by Jared Diamond, historical societies known for their peril due to environmental and human catastrophes. Jared Diamond analyzes the root causes of failed societies and uses his knowledge to depict today’s warning signs. The main focus of this book is to present clear and undeniable evidence that human activities corrupted the environment. To prove this Diamon used past societies, modern societies, and social business societies as a foundation. The most specific and beneficial theories that Diamond analyzes would be the decline of biodiversity on Easter Island, the deforestation of the Greenland Norse, the mining mismanagements in Australia and big businesses.
She doesn't want to be the reason that her friends are tortured, so she can't name them. She has to let them torture her and she has to endue the unbelievable pain. When she can not imagine going on her faith saves her. Without thinking the words of "Hail Mary" come to her mind.
In the essay “Local Rock And Global Plastic: World Ecology And The Experience Of Place,” by Ursula K. Heise, she writes that, "the objective of this essay is to explore how literary texts negotiate the juncture between ecological globalism and localism and how, from a comparatist viewpoint, they link issues of global ecology with those of transnational culture," (Heise 126). This level of analysis, regarding the importance of world ecology and eco-friendly mindsets, finds refuge in the the basic principles of post colonialism mixed together with a few important points featured in marxism regarding alienation and consumerism. Where colonialism represents the time period where the great empires of the twentieth century began cutting portions
Ziggy Marley once said, “God is like the sun. When the sun shines, it shines for everyone. God is for everyone.” In the same way, Abbot Suger built the Basilica of St. Denis so that sunlight would flood throughout the building and symbolize the power of God inviting visitors into the cathedral. The Basilica of St. Denis was an artistic response to the rise of the Catholic Church’s power for it was modeled to be a physical representation of heaven, which the church heavily preached upon. (Thesis) As the basilica represented the shift from Romanesque architecture to Gothic, Abbot Suger introduced new techniques that transformed cathedrals to look more spacious and “heavenly”. (Map Statement #1-Art History) By allowing sunlight to come through the large windows, Abbot Suger instilled the Neo-Platonic idea that the sun was the physical representation of God. (Map Statement #2 –Philosophy) Also, at that time, the church was rising in power, so the new structural style of the basilica brought more converts and eventually more power to the church. (Map Statement #3 –Social Institutions) [Insert Literature Map Statement] The Basilica of St. Denis was built so that worshippers would be in awe of the “heaven-like” setting, which would cause more people to declare their faith to God and to the church.
The majority of this piece is dedicated to the author stating his opinion in regards to civilization expanding beyond its sustainable limits. The author makes it clear that he believes that humans have failed the natural environment and are in the process of eliminating all traces of wilderness from the planet. Nash points out facts that strengthen his argument, and quotes famous theologians on their similar views on environmental issues and policies. The combination of these facts and quotes validates the author’s opinion.
Late in the fifth century the son of a well-off family in Italy left for isolation on his mission to truly seek god. This man was St. Benedict, who is credited with the first establishment of the concept of withdrawing from all temptation for Christian beliefs in the west. St. Benedict left his home and went to the top of a mountain, where he established a monastic community. In this community the individuals who resided there, constantly reiterated their faith. They sacrificed whatever they may have had to prove their true commitment to God. This became an early ideal of Christianity, that one must suffer loss and sacrifice to prove their loyalty to the faith. It was believed in this time period that if one is content with only what they truly need one is freer to think about other people and to think about God . These individuals were called Regular Clergies (monks) and were considered heroes of the faith.
Giovanni Boccaccio’s Decameron is a series of tales written during the Late Middle Ages that is meant to entertain the reader. While the entertainment value of Boccaccio’s work in undeniable, the Decameron also provides the reader with information about society at the time, and Boccaccio’s own worldview. One of the most prevalent themes throughout the Decameron is the portrayal of clergymen and members of religious communities as negative influences on those around them, constantly behaving in a manner unfit for those who are supposed to be moral and spiritual exemplars. Throughout the tales told by the lieta brigada, many priests, and friars are portrayed as being extremely lustful and greedy, frequently indulging in sex (often with the wives of other men), and living lives more befitting of a minor lord than a monk. Those clergymen who are not portrayed as out rightly immoral are usually stupid, and are unable to stop others from acting immorally because of their ignorance. Despite this, a few of the clergymen in the story are shown as ultimately having good intentions, or improving in morality through the actions of another. To understand all of these criticisms of the clergy, we must look at them through a historical lens, and observe the behavior of members of the Church in the Late Middle Ages. Finally, these analyses of the Decameron’s portrayal of clergymen may give us insight into Boccaccio’s own faith, and allow us to understand the motives of the author. In this essay, I will analyze the portrayal of clergymen and members of religious communities in Giovanni Boccaccio’s Decameron. I will focus on the licentiousness, greed, and stupidity of these members of the Church, while also evaluating the few portrayals of good me...
Sorrell, Roger D. Saint Francis of Assisi and Nature: Tradition and Innovation in Western Christian Attitudes toward the Environment. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1988.
Le Mont Saint Michel is a rocky cone shaped island or islet located just off the North West coast of France in the gulf of Saint Malo. It is home to one of France’s greatest tourist attractions named Le Mereille, this brilliant eleventh century gothic style church is often simply called Mont St Michel. What transforms this fairly typical gothic church into one of the most striking buildings of the world, and the destination of so many visitors over the course of the past twelve centuries, is its magnificent, almost arrogant location.
The last major environmental catastrophe directly caused by humans are the oil spills in the Gulf of Mexico. There is hardly any attention to these events. Indra Sinha’s fire represented in Animal’s People has only burning within the community. The media never spread it to create a wildfire to spread across the world. The fire of conversation was struck short by the lack of support that the community was able to receive.
The history of Christianity has always involved turbulence. Not only were there divisions among the members of the religion into different sects according to their own beliefs and ideas, but also, there were struggles between Christianity and the pagan, in which the two opposing sides tried to weaken the other and yield greater influence. These divisions and fierce competitions can be observed in Umberto Eco’s The Name of the Rose, in which several clashes between systems are shown: a conflict between Christianity and paganism and one between the two different orders – the Benedictine and Franciscan. Moreover, the significance of the society’s mood is also evident: through the application of the concept of discourse, the impact of the societal norms and standards, particularly in the limited setting of a monastery, is depicted.
An ecocriticism is is a lens that looks at the relationship between people and the natural world. Thomas K. Dean gave a better description be stating, “Ecocriticism is a study of culture and cultural products (art works, writings, scientific theories, etc.) that is in some way connected with the human relationship to